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 Chris Davis hit a two-run homer, and right-hander Kevin Gausman
went the distance as the Baltimore Orioles defeated the New York
Yankees 3-1 in a rain-shortened, five-inning game that began Sunday
night.
The game was stopped with the Orioles (52-42) batting in the bottom
of the fifth, and it was official because New York (47-47) got to
hit in the top of the inning. The umpires stopped the game at 9:48
p.m. ET and finally called it at 12:10 a.m. ET as the rain didn't
let up.
This victory gives Baltimore a four-game lead over second-place
Toronto heading into the All-Star break. The Tampa Bay Rays beat the
Blue Jays 3-0 earlier Sunday, which helped the surprising Orioles
feel very good going into their brief vacation.
"We wanted to kind of control our own destiny, so to speak," Davis
said. "We're definitely in the driver's seat right now, and
hopefully we can keep it going."
 The Orioles saw one of their games delayed or postponed due to rain
for the 19th time this season. They had to wait for a long time
while the umpires hoped to resume play, but the game never
restarted.
"Sitting around for, I don't know how long we sat around until we
found out. It was kind of getting ridiculous because it was (after
midnight)," Gausman said. "It was kind of crazy. I made the joke,
'We're pretty much on the All-Star break.'"
Now the Orioles can go into that break on a winning note thanks
mainly to Davis and Gausman. Davis snapped an 0-for-13 skid with his
homer to left off New York starter Chase Whitley (4-3) in the
fourth, a blast that gave Baltimore the lead for good at 2-1.
The Orioles first baseman struggled in recent weeks, and his average
is .199 heading into the break, down from .244 in early June. That
is why manager Buck Showalter liked seeing Davis get a big hit of
the game.
"I think from a human being standpoint, just for him to spend the
next four days thinking about his last swing is good for him and
good for us tonight," Showalter said.
Second baseman Jonathan Schoop added an RBI single later in the
fourth to knock out Whitley and give the Orioles a 3-1 lead.
That proved enough for Gausman (4-2), who shut down the Yankees
after giving up a home run to start the game. Gausman settled down
and retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced to record his first
complete game in the majors -- albeit one with an asterisk attached.
The third-place Yankees ended a tough first half with the loss as
they slid five games behind the Orioles.
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New York started the game well. Center fielder Brett Gardner homered
to right on Gausman's fourth pitch of the night to give the Yankees
a quick 1-0 lead. New York couldn't do anything else against Gausman
after that.
Baltimore left the bases loaded in the second inning against
Whitley, but the Orioles broke through against the right-hander two
frames later.
Designated hitter Nelson Cruz started the inning with a walk and
scored when Davis sliced a two-run homer to left. Shortstop J.J.
Hardy followed with a double and came in on Schoop's two-out single.
New York manager Joe Girardi said he understood the umpires'
decision to halt matters after midnight, though he offered his
support for a rule change.
"My preference would be you come back and finish it," Girardi said.
"I know when you go to a city one time and it happens then you have
to live with it. It would be changing what they've done in the past,
but I think it's something to look at. If we're coming back, why
don't we finish it?"
NOTES: The Orioles first talked about it Friday, but they made the
move official before Sunday's game, putting RHP Ubaldo Jimenez
(right ankle sprain) on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to July
8. Jimenez hurt the ankle stepping in a hole in a parking lot. ...
The DL move opened the door for the Orioles to recall RHP Kevin
Gausman from Triple-A Norfolk to start Sunday night. ... The Yankees
called up RHP Bryan Mitchell from Double-A Trenton and sent 3B Zoilo
Almonte back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, along with RHPs Matt
Daley and Jim Miller. ... RHP Chase Whitley started Sunday's game,
the 45th time this season that the Yankees sent a rookie pitcher to
the mound. That is the most before the All-Star break in franchise
history, shattering the old record of 31, which was set in 2007.
Whitley allowed three runs on five hits in 3 2/3 innings.
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